What Goes on Without Lily
by itchee
Summary: Lily is off to Florida for a week, but she's worried about Ray. She leaves Travis the job of "taking care" of him, but when Ray finds out, he doesn't like what he hears. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
1. I Don't Exactly Want to Go

**Chapter 1: I Don't Exactly Want to Go**

Ray and Robbie sat boredly on the bottom step of the stairs before school. Ray yawned, looking at his watch. "Jeez, man. Tired?" Robbie asked, sarcastically. Ray nodded. His hair was messy, his shoes untied, and his shirt on backwards. "Yeah, why did Lily want us here so early anyway?" Ray asked, attempting to smooth his hair down so he didn't look like a complete idiot.  
  
Soon, they heard footsteps echoing down the empty halls. "Lily?" Ray and Robbie called in unison. "So she's not here yet, I take it?" Travis asked as he turned a corner, coming into view. Ray and Robbie shook their heads looking at the freshly polished floor. Travis sat down next to Ray and fiddled with his thumbs. Ray was still busy making himself look less dorky. Robbie had rested his head on the step about three steps up from where he sat, his eyes closed. None of them noticed Lily walking down the stairs.  
  
She stood on the step above Robbie's head. She leaned over, and he finally saw her. "Hey, Lily, where have you been?!" He asked, surprised. Ray and Travis instantly stood up and smiled at her.  
  
"Oh, you guys, I'm so sorry I kept you this long." Lily said, her shoulders slumping. Ray folded his arms jokingly. "Well, you sure should be!" Lily punched his arm. Ray rubbed his arm and sat down, whimpering like a puppy. Lily smiled and laughed a little as she stepped off the stairs.  
  
"Why did you want us to meet you here?" Travis asked, inspecting the large bag on her shoulder. Lily put down the bag and looked at her friends. "Well, I'm going on vacation for a week, and I thought I should tell you. My family is waiting for me outside."  
  
Ray stood up quickly. "You mean you're leaving me alone with these things for a week? Gosh, and I thought we were friends!" He stuck his bottom lip out. Lily raised a fist and said, "I wasn't a part of this decision, Ray. I don't exactly want to go."  
  
In the background, Travis had picked up Lily's bag. "This thing is pretty heavy, Lily. What did you pack?" Lily lowered her fist and looked at him. "It's just some clothes and stuff. Why?" Ray took the bag from Travis. He made a face and joked falling over. "Its probably 20 pounds of make-up," He laughed. Lily raised a fist again and walked towards Ray. He stuck out his foot and Lily fell over sideways towards the stairway railing. You can imagine how much her head would have hurt if Travis wasn't there to catch her.  
  
"Ray!" All three friends scolded him in unison.  
  
Ray shrugged. "So when are you leaving?" he asked her. Travis helped Lily to stand up, but still kept a hand on her arm to keep her from tackling Ray. She blew a piece of hair away from her face and took her bag back. "Now, Ray. I'm leaving now. I'll see you in a week. Maybe longer, if I want to." She turned away and hugged both Travis and Robbie. Ray held out his arms, expecting one himself. Lily patted him on the head and walked out the doors down the hall.   
  
Travis and Robbie glared at him. Ray shrugged. "Did I do something bad?"

Travis sighed, "What is up with you today, Ray? What was all that about?" he asked calmly, not letting the anger from deep inside him show. Ray shrugged. "I was only kidding around. Maybe its Lily that's in the bad mood."  
  
Robbie looked at Travis. "I'm going to go try to calm her down before she leaves. Are you coming?" Travis nodded. "That's a good idea, but we'd better hurry." He ran down the hall. Ray got up to follow him, but Robbie stopped him. "No, I think it's better if you don't talk to Lily for a while. In fact, I think it should just be Travis. He's better with calming people down than either of us is."  
  
Ray nodded. "I guess you're right." He sat back down on the bottom step of the stairs, and Robbie sat next to him, on the floor.   
  
Travis caught up with Lily just as she was reaching the doors that led outside. He grabbed her arm, but she didn't turn around. "Ray, if that's you, I--"  
  
"Lily..." Travis said. Lily turned around. "Oh, Travis, I'm sorry, I just thought..." her voice trailed off when Travis put his hand on her shoulder and slumped over a little, catching his breath. "You put up... a good... chase back there..." he managed to say. "I don't know about Robbie, but I... Robbie?" Turning his head, he expected to see Robbie. The hall was quiet. The only sounds he could hear were Lily's slow, calm breaths and his rapid, worn-out breaths.   
  
He stood up a few minutes later, breathing normally, and looked Lily in the eye. "Look, Lil... Ray was just joking around back there. He didn't really mean to get you mad." Lily exhaled deeply. "I know, Travis, and I think it's really sweet how you're trying to get me to forgive him..." A small smile tugged at the corners of Travis's lips. Lily continued on, "...I just think there's something going on with him. He hasn't been himself lately."   
  
"Yeah, I've noticed that too," Travis lied. This was his big chance to be with Lily, and he wasn't going to pass it up by saying anything stupid.  
  
Lily smiled. "That's good, I'm glad someone else has. I want you to watch him, take care of him for me. I'm real worried about him. Can you do that for me?" Her eyes showed a deep concern that Travis had never seen in her before. It made him worry, and feel helpful, like this really was his big chance, both at the same time.  
  
"Sure, I'll do that for you. Of course I will." Travis said. Lily smiled widely at him and hugged him again. "Thanks Travis," she said. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "This means a lot to me. You really are such a good friend." Travis blushed slightly, and he hoped Lily didn't notice. "Anytime," he said quickly. "So I'll see you in a week?" Lily smiled and nodded. Travis stood there for a minute, and watched her walk out the door.  
  
At the time, Travis didn't know what a responsibility Ray could really be.


	2. She's My Guardian Angel

**Chapter 2: Yeah, She's My Guardian Angel **

"So, is she okay? Did you tell her I was sorry? What happened, Strong? Tell me what happened!" Ray burst out with questions as soon as he saw Travis walking down the hall.

"She's just a little worried about--,"Travis caught himself just in time. He didn't think telling Ray that Lily was worried about him would be a good idea. "Um, she's worried about leaving us alone. You know, she's like our guardian, sometimes." _'Nice save, Strong,' _Travis thought, giving himself an imaginary pat on the back.

"Yeah, she's my guardian angel..." Ray murmured, putting the emphasis on 'angel'. He bit his bottom lip and shook his head slightly, daydreaming. Robbie burst out laughing. Travis bit the inside of his lip to keep himself from blowing up in Ray's face. Normally a cool, collected person, it was hard for Travis to keep that reputation in times like this.

Later that day, in the RFR underground station, Travis was about to put the sow on the air, when Robbie stopped him. "Wait, how are we supposed to explain why Shady Lane isn't here? If we say that she's on vacation, people are going to know its Lily."

"Not necessarily," Ray pointed out. "Someone else might be on vacation. You never know."

Travis studied him, "You sound like you know something we don't. Do you?"

Ray smirked, "Gosh, Swami. You pick these things up quick." Robbie and Travis both looked at Ray, their eyebrows raised. Ray raised his hands. "Okay, okay. I give in. Someone else in our grade is on vacation, too. Well, actually, she's leaving tomorrow, but--,"

"RAY!" the other boys shouted in unison.

"Okay, okay! Audrey. Are you satisfied now? Gosh, guys." Ray said, adding a fierce cat meow afterwards, and a hand movement like a cats paw. Robbie shook his head, glaring at Ray.

However, Travis wasn't satisfied. Why hadn't Audrey told him? _'I mean, sure, she was mad about the whole kiss scenario, but she was only mad at Lily, right?' _Travis thought. Then he had another thought. A flashback, rather...

_"...I just think there's something going on with him. He hasn't been himself lately." Lily had said._

_"Yeah, I've noticed that too," Travis lied._

Now, he finally realized. Since when had Ray and Audrey become such good friends?

"Travis. Travis? Travis!" Robbie was yelling. "Yo, Swami!" Ray added, squirting him with a water bottle he had brought, in case he got thirsty.

The water had caught Travis's attention. "Ray! What was that for? If that had gotten on any of this equipment, I--," Robbie cut him off. "Smog, we kind of have a show to do! This isn't the best time to daydream. We're already running late." In the background, Ray nodded, matter-of-fact like. Travis turned to his equipment and scowled, so Ray couldn't see him. He flipped a couple of switches, pressed a couple of buttons, and then turned to his friends. "You're on in 5... 4... 3..." Travis signaled the last two numbers.

Robbie started the show. Travis was watching Ray, and Ray was watching Travis, since there was no Lily for them to stare at. "What?" Ray mouthed. Travis shrugged and shook his head as if to say, "I'm not doing anything."

"This is Radio..." Question Mark started. Neither Ray nor Travis continued. Robbie looked at them both. "Alright then... For all of us here in the studio, this is Radio Free Roscoe. I'm question Mark, and I'm wondering... what is it going to take to wake up Smog and Pronto? What is your opinion, Pronto?"

Hearing his radio name, Ray popped back to reality. "Yes! Yes, I agree, Question Mark. That is a good point you brought up."

Travis burst out laughing. Robbie slapped his hand to his forehead, annoyed. "Listeners, this is Question Mark telling you all to enjoy not being here. This is going to be a long show, everyone. Smog, how about you play a couple songs for us while you catch your breath?"

Robbie was right. It was a very long show. In addition, Travis was anxious to get it over with so he could call Lily.

"Okay, guys. That's a wrap. We're done for today." Robbie informed the guys, tapping his fingers on his microphone. Ray nodded. He looked down and fiddled with his thumbs. Travis leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling. "Oh, just go. I'll lock up." He said, un-enthusiastically. Robbie and Ray ran quickly up the stairs and out the door. Once they were out of sight, Travis grabbed his phone and dialed Lily's cell.

"Hello?" Lily answered. Travis loved the sound of her voice.

"Yeah, hi Lily. How was your day?" Travis replied, working into the subject slowly.

Lily sighed, "Travis, stop. Just tell me what you found out." She was trying very hard not to let him know how happy she was to hear from him. The call was so unexpected, when she heard his voice, her heart skipped a beat.

"Since when have Ray and Audrey... been friends?" Travis asked, slowly.

"Oh my God..." Lily whispered, "I didn't think this would actually happen. I'm so sorry Travis, but you need to know something...."

_**(A few days before)**_

_Robbie and Ray were sitting on the bottom step of the stairway. They often found themselves there, liking it to just sit down and talk._

"..._So, I figure, since Travis is going out with Audrey, Lily is all mine! Well, you know, unless they break up or something, but who would give up Audrey?" Ray was saying. Robbie was bobbing his head, pretending to listen, and saying the occasional "Uh-huh," and "Yep," when necessary. However, little did they know, Audrey was standing behind them, waiting to get down the stairs._

"_You really think so?" Audrey asked, even though she could care less. Ray turned around. He smiled shyly and nodded. Audrey squatted down so her face was next to Ray's. Robbie had seen her. He took a double take, not believing his eyes. "Well, I've been thinking on dumping Travis anyway," she lied, but they thought she was truthful, "and if you really think so..." she started running her fingers through Ray's hair, "...then maybe we could talk sometime. Although, I'm going on vacation on Thursday, for a week. Maybe, you know, if you'd like to, we could talk about some things over some tea at Mickey's?"_

_Ray, smiling a confused smile, and blushing a bit, nodded slowly. Audrey let out a soft laugh. She lifted Ray's head with her finger so his eyes met with hers. "I'll come back nice and tan for you." She told him._

_After Audrey walked away, Ray looked at Robbie, "What just happened? I... I feel like I'm going to melt."_

_Robbie glared at him. "You told me you loved Lily, Ray. What about Lily?"_

_Ray laughed, watching Audrey walk away. "Lily? What about her?" He didn't take his eyes off Audrey, even when Robbie turned and walked up the stairs. There, he saw Lily._

"_Lil, I'm sorry about what Ray said." Robbie tried to explain._

_Lily blinked back her tears, but she wasn't crying for herself. "Why do you feel sorry for me? Did you hear what she said about Travis? I'll bet she's not even going on vacation. She'll make up some lie, and Ray will believe her. What does he see in her, anyway? I hate her. She doesn't even care about Travis's feelings." Lily said, calmly but angrily, before she stormed away._

"Travis, I'm really sorry this had to happen," Lily said, trying to keep her voice from cracking. She never liked to be the bearer of bad news.

Travis was silent for a moment. Lily was getting very worried. "Travis... are you going to be alright? Please say something, Travis. You're really making me uncomfortable."

"Yeah," Travis whispered. His eyes were glassy with tears. "Thank you, actually, for telling me that. Now I can prevent it." He hung up before Lily could say anymore.

Lily couldn't help but let the flood of tears escape for a while. She laid down on her hotel bed and soon after, fell asleep.


	3. She Loves Travis, Ray!

**A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews so far! Please keep reviewing, because the more reviews I get, the sooner I update! (I already have about 6 chapters done :D)**

**Chapter 3: She Loves Travis, Ray!**

"Now, let's go to a song." Question Mark suggested, giving a nod in Smog's direction. Travis did nothing. He was leaning backwards in his chair, and you could tell by his eyes that he was thinking, thinking about something that was deeply troubling him. "Smog? Smog, you awake, bud?"

'_Get it through your thick head, Travis. You love Lily. You love Lily. You love Lily. But if I love Lily so much, why does it hurt so much, being dumped by Audrey? No, no, that's not true yet. Lily warned me that Audrey was going to break up with me, so I can break up with her, first. No, what if she was just sweet talking Ray? She might not dump me... but I love Lily. There's no way to get around this. I... love... Lily.'_

He hadn't realized it before, but now Travis heard the sweet, calming voice of Lily. But where was she? She was singing, singing a song from long ago... _'Lily, come back,'_ Travis willed her silently in his head, _'I have to talk to you... when are you coming home?' _ Feeling someone remove his headphones, Travis popped back to reality. Lily's singing stopped. Robbie had only played a recording of her song.

Travis turned his head to look at Ray as he began to talk, "God, Swami! We'd thought you'd slipped into a coma! What was up with you? We had to put on a CD, since we didn't know how long it would take just to wake you up, and not to mention finding out what the heck is wrong."

Travis looked down at his hands and began fiddling with his thumbs. Robbie laid a hand on his friend's shoulder, "In case you didn't know, that means we want to know what's going on with you. Obviously, something's the matter, Travis. We're your friends, you can tell us." He said, reassuring his DJ.

'_I called Lily and she told me about you and Audrey, Ray. I'm going to break up with her; you can have her. I really don't care anymore. Do you know why? I love Lily. I'm going to deny it no longer. She was worried about you when I went to talk to her the other day, before she left for vacation. She kissed me. Only on the cheek, but it still meant something to me. She asked me to watch you, make sure you were okay, Ray. She really cares about you. The trouble is, though, that ever since then, I can't stop thinking about her. Ray, you can have Audrey, because I love Lily Randall.'_

Travis shook the words out of his head. No, he couldn't say that... at least, not all at one time.

"I called Lily yesterday," He began. Good start, but Ray was already feeling uncomfortable. "I'll tell you why later. But, Ray, she told me about Audrey and you, talking..."

"She was there?!" Ray exclaimed.

Robbie nodded, "Yeah. She was real upset." He paused and sighed, wondering if he should say what's on his mind.

'..._she was real upset, Ray, but not about what you said about her. I'm sure that really burned her, but she put her best friend before herself. What you said about Travis hurt her more than what you said about her. She was so worried about how he would take it. And that really made me think. That kiss, she said it meant nothing, but it clearly does. She loves Travis, Ray! Nothing mattes to her anymore – you can go out with Audrey and she wont care, not one bit.'_

Both Ray and Travis were staring at Robbie, but the passions on their faces were like polar opposites. It was then that it occurred to Robbie that he had spoken his views out loud.

Ray glared at Travis, his eyes full of anger, and on the bridge of tears. "Why would you call her? Did you talk about me, is that why she told you that? Are you just here to ruin my life; is that your job, Strong?" Travis looked at Ray, his face going from ecstatic to hurt.

'_She loves Travis, Ray!' _

'_Are you just here to ruin my life...?'_

Travis couldn't take it anymore; he lost his cool. "No! She loves you too. I only called her because she was worried about you. She observed your strange behavior, and it truly scared her, Ray! It truly did! I was only trying to help her out..." He paused and took a deep breath, "...she asked me to watch you, and make sure you were okay. I didn't think you and Audrey were really friends, so I didn't know how you knew she was going to be on vacation before I did, especially since I'm her boyfriend, you know. But I don't care anymore!

I love Lily!"

Whatever happened next, Travis couldn't remember. He woke up on the studio couch the next day, and seeing Robbie messing around with some equipment across the room, he called him over.

Robbie was on the phone. He said, "Hold on, it's Travis," and Travis could just barely hear the words. Robbie rushed over, and held the phone out to him. "It's Lily. I figured she ought to know what happened." Travis squinted at his friend. The lights were on behind him. "But, Robbie, I don't even know what happened." Travis said groggily. Robbie still motioned for him to take the phone.

"So Lily," Travis said, "how's vacation going?"

Lily took a deep breath, "You have no idea what happened, do you, Travis?

Travis sighed, "No. No, I really don't."


	4. You Saved My Neck, If you Know what I Me...

**Chapter 4: You Saved my Neck, if You Know What I Mean**

"Let Robbie tell you. I – I think he would... he could... can I... I need to talk to him. Please?" Lily asked, her voice shaking.

Travis didn't say good-bye, for some reason. He had a throbbing pain in his head, and his neck was stiffer than it had ever been before. He handed Robbie the phone, then turned over and laid on his side. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep almost instantly.

"Robbie, I really am scared." Lily had told Robbie.

"Lil, the doctor said he'd be just fine. Stop worrying."

"No, Robbie. I'm not worried about his neck..."

"Well, I'll make sure Ray doesn't have any outbursts that hurt Travis in anyway. And I'll try to keep Travis under better control next time."

"No, no, it's not Ray either..."

"Then what IS it, Lily? You and I are the only ones left here."

"That's just it, Robbie. I'm worried about us." Lily answered slowly.

Robbie was silent for a while. "Because we're both caught in the middle of this whole thing?"

"Well, sort of, yes. But also because I--,"

Robbie cut her off, and finished the sentence, "...because you love Travis."

Lily was sitting on her hotel bed in her pajamas and slippers. Her hair was pulled back in two braids. In one hand, she was holding her cell phone to her ear. In her other hand, she was cradling a framed picture she had brought, that no one – not Ray, Travis, or Robbie – knew that she had.

It was a picture of her friends at Mickey's. The group had just met Travis, and they were showing him around town. Ray had spilled his milkshake all over his brand new shirt – Lily had actually bought it for him for his birthday. He was staring down at the stain, and Robbie was pointing, laughing. Robbie's hair was pulled back in short – very short – pigtails that Lily had done herself. Travis was the only one looking at the camera, but he didn't know she actually saw him. He figured she was looking at her other, older, lifetime friends. But, no, she was aiming at him.

Lily took a deep breath before answering. "Yes... Yes I do." She told Robbie quietly before hanging up the phone. She sat on the bed for a while before going outside. The entrances to the hotel rooms were all if outside, because, of course, she was in Florida, the Sunshine State. Florida has rainstorms almost every day. It was raining severely at the time, but Lily didn't seem to care. She went down to the ground floor and sat on one of the benches outside, letting herself get soaked. She stared up at the dark clouds, and she didn't go back inside until they parted.

Robbie sighed and put his phone in his pocket. He turned around to wake Travis up and tell him what Ray had done. Travis, already awake, looked Robbie in the eye. "I love her, too. Now can you just tell me what happened to me? Please?"

"Alright," Robbie said, pulling up a chair. Travis sat up and leaned forward, eager to know, yet frightened if it was something extremely bad, that he really didn't want to know.

"After you told Ray about... you know..."

'_But I don't care anymore! I love Lily!'_

_Ray had a pure hatred in his eyes that Robbie had never seen before. He glared at Travis and picked up a CD case from off the floor. "I know you do, Strong. But why do you have to keep repeating it?!" he yelled. Trying to cover up his sadness, Ray began angrily throwing things around. Robbie reached out his hand, blocking a CD case from going into Travis's booth. Ray had thrown it pretty hard, because when the corner of the case hit Robbie's palm, it punctured his skin. 'Ah!' he moaned, putting pressure on the cut to make it stop bleeding. As he was doing that, Ray picked up his water bottle, still half-full, and threw it towards the open door of Travis's studio. Travis grabbed the handle, but couldn't pull the door shut in time. The bottom of the water bottle hit him in the head, right above his eye. A hand flew to the aching spot and tried to rub the pain away. Ray walked up to Travis. Travis opened his eyes just in time to see Ray push his chair backwards. The back of his neck hit the edge of the desk behind him. This caused him to lose consciousness. Even after hitting the floor, the chair flipped over one last time, trapping Travis underneath it._

'_Ray!' Robbie yelled. 'What the hell was that for? He might die if his neck was hit in the wrong spot! How would you feel if that happened, Ray? How to you feel now?"_

_Ray didn't answer. His eyes were wide and his palms were sweaty. He exhaled heavily, "Oh, God. Travis... I..." Ray said. Robbie hung his head. "He can't hear you, Ray." Ray looked at Robbie, then quickly ran out the door._

_Robbie dialed Lily's phone number on his cell phone. 'Lily? Oh, thank God,' Robbie said as he heard Lily's voice on the other line._

'_Robbie... what's wrong? Or do I not want to know?' Lily asked._

'_You don't want to know... but I think I should still tell you anyway..."_

Travis touched the back of his neck. He felt a long line of rough, clotted blood right below his hairline... where he had hit the desk.

"The doctor said your neck might be a little stiff over the next few days, but nothing severely threatening," Robbie informed him. "You can still go to school, Mickey's, RFR, whatever. You're just fine."

Travis nodded. Robbie saw how troubled he looked. "Hey, how about you go home. I'll lock up today."

Travis quickly got up, and though it stung his neck, he turned and smiled at his friend. "Thanks, Robbie. That really means a lot."

Robbie looked up from his CD's. "It's really no problem, Trav. I've locked up before. I just want you to get home and Ice that neck. Maybe even a heat wrap or something. You know, a neck massage would feel real—. "

Travis laughed. "No, not that. I mean, for taking care of me. For calling the doctor and saving my neck, if you know what I mean." He said, placing a hand on Robbie's shoulder. Robbie laughed. "I had to, man. The hospital was full. Thank God the doctors make house calls here."

Smiling, Travis turned around and left.


	5. I'll Be Home Soon

**Chapter 5: I'll Be Home Soon**

"_Ray, no!" Robbie screamed._

"_Ray, what are you doing? Stop!" Lily pleaded._

_Travis turned around. He heard Lily's deafening scream as he saw her and Ray. She was sitting in Travis's chair, in his studio, with Ray standing in front of her. He was holding on to her shoulders, pushing the chair back at an angle, and he was just about ready to let go. If he let go, and she fell backwards, the desk was just close enough for her to_

_No! Travis shook the thought out of his head. Robbie glared at him. "If you love her so much, then save her, Travis!"_

_In a split second, Travis found himself where Ray was before – holding Lily's shoulders, the only thing keeping her from hitting the desk, falling on the floor, bleeding_

"_Travis, what's wrong?" Lily asked, studying him. "I don't like that look in your eyes, Travis"_

_Without thinking, he let go. Instead, he found himself in the chair, falling, instead of Lily. Right before his neck hit the desk, he felt someone grab his shoulders, pulling him up. It was Lily. Travis's heart was beating quickly, but he couldn't say a word._

"_Good-bye, Travis." She said, her voice echoing throughout the station. Everything was white – the walls, the chairs, Lily's dressâ - and Ray and Robbie were gone. This Lily didn't look like the same Lily Travis knew and loved, though. This Lily's eyes were bright purple. Her hair was long and red. She let go of Travis, and he felt himself falling into the black hole that had appeared behind him. He could hear the real Lily screaming, running towards him. The "fake" Lily disappeared as the real Lily took her place. She reached out to Travis, but he was too far into the hole to ever come back_

Travis woke up, his pulse normal, his breathing hadn't quickened, and his face was not drenched in cold sweat. He leaned over and looked at his clock – 12:18 PM, Saturday. Lily would be heading home in three daysâjust three daysâ but he couldn't take any more of this.

Lily had been on the plane for three hours and should be landing in Toronto any minute. Her cell phone was on silent vibrate. She couldn't exactly answer it on the plane, especially when they were about to land.

"_We will be landing in fifteen minutes. Please begin packing up."_

Lily smiled. She got up and went to the back of the plane towards the bathroom, her hand on the pocket with her cell phone. Luckily, one of the bathrooms was vacant. She got in and leaned against the wall, taking out her cell phone. The name on the screen said: Missed call #1: Strong, 525-5678. Lily took in her breath. Something else must have happened.

Travis was lying on his bed, one hundred and one questions running through his head: Where was Lily? Why didn't she answer? What if something happened to her? What did his dream mean? âWhy wasn't he afraid of it?

The phone rang in Travis's room. He decided to let the answering machine get it, but he went into the kitchen – where the answering machine was – just to make sure it wasn't someone important.

'_Hi, you have reached the Strong's. We are not able to come to the phone right now, so please leave a message after the tone.'_

Travis heard steady breathing on the other line before the person spoke.

"Travis. It's Lily. I'm sorry I didn't pick up before; I'm on the plane home. We should be landing any minute. I hope nothing's wrongâit worries me when you call, especially after, wellâ never mind. I'll be home soon. I love you guys. Bye."

Travis didn't need to wait another minute. He grabbed his keys, scribbled his mom a note, and was out the door and in his car, heading to the Toronto airport in less than two minutes.


	6. Ray's Major Setback

**Chapter 6: Ray's Major Setback**

Ray sighed from defeat as he hung up his phone. "He's still not answering his home phone. Do you think he knows it's me?"

Robbie raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "He has Caller ID, doesn't he?"

Ray blew a piece of hair out of his face. Robbie shook his head quickly. "Or, he might not be home."

"Maybe I should call his cell phone." Ray said.

"Go ahead. No skin off my bones." Robbie answered, unenthusiastically. "I truly don't mind if Travis doesn't come to Mickey's with us; he need's time to rest his neck, you know, Ray?" He put the emphasis on "neck."

"Ray, look... It's no problem; Yes, I know you're sorry. No, no really... I'm fine, Ray." Travis was saying as he neared the airport-parking garage.

"Hey, Swami, where are you? You're breaking up," Ray said from his place at Mickey's later that day.

"Airport, long story... I'll be back later. Lily will be too." Travis said, hanging up quickly.

Ray picked up the hint immediately; odd, really. He jammed his cell phone in his pocket and stormed out the door. He motioned for Robbie to follow him into the car.

"Ray, where are you going? Hey, come on, man. Say something!" Robbie said, clueless as to what was going on.

"Lily... Travis... Airport... Bad news." Ray mumbled as the car's engine roared and he pushed down the gas.

"Lily, Hun, I'm going to take a trip to the restrooms. Do you need to go?"

Lily looked up at her mother and shook her head. "No, I'll wait here for the luggage."

Lily's father patted his daughter on he shoulder. "That's a good idea. I'm going to use the rest room. Be right back, Babes."

Lily smiled and turned around, walking toward the luggage conveyor belt. She stood, in her shorts and tank tops, watching all the people walk by in jeans and sweatshirts. The weather was obviously much different in Orlando. Her arms were folded across her chest in an attempt to keep warm in the poorly insulated terminal.

Travis smiled when he saw her there, her body tan, her hair pulled back in loose pigtails. He could see how cold she was. Taking off his brown suede jacket, Travis walked up behind her and draped it over her trembling shoulders.

She grabbed the edges of the jacket and pulled them closer together; making the jackets edges cover the entire top half of her body. She slowly turned around and let out her breath when she saw who was behind her.

Travis looked down at his feet, not able to think of anything to say. "So, Lily, what caused you to come home so early? I mean, not that I don't want you here, I was just wondering. You weren't supposed to be home for another three days."

Lily laid a finger on Travis's lips. "You talk too much, Travis. We had to come home early because there's a hurricane forming to the south of Florida. It would have hit by Tuesday, and we would have been stuck there even longer."

Travis grasped Lily's wrist and gently pulled it away from his face. "Can I talk now?"

Lily exhaled and smiled. She nodded. "How is your neck?" She asked, putting a hand on the back of his neck. "Does it hurt at all? Can you move it?"

"Yes, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Doctor Robbie took good care of me," Travis said, reassuring his friend. Lily smiled. Her hand was still behind his head. She looked at the ground, her smile fading.

Travis followed her gaze to the terminal floor. He knew what she was thinking. "He and Audrey haven't had any time to socialize. Robbie found out, about the same time Ray did, about what you asked me to do, and since then, he's been keeping an eye on Ray, too." Lily looked up, but Travis continued. "I know he's your best friend. I understand the sort of connection you two have."

Lily sighed. She sat down on the baggage conveyor belt. She read the sign next to her: PLEASE DO NOT SIT OR LEAN ON CONVEYOR BELT. Travis saw the sign too. Lily shook her head. "Nah, I'm sure they just mean when it's in motion. It's out of order anyway, see?" She pointed to a sign resting against the red light on top of the belt; the one that flashes when the belt is about to move: "**out of order,**" someone had scribbled.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Lily wondered what was taking her parents so long to use the bathroom.

Then, a hoarse beeping rang throughout the terminal. The light on the belt next to Lily and Travis began flashing, like a police light. Soon, the conveyor belt below Lily began moving. "Ah!" She squealed as she jumped up. She grabbed Travis's shoulders and got as far away from the belt as possible. They both looked at the conveyor belt. "I guess the sign just meant that the light was out of order, huh?" Lily said looking back at Travis. She didn't realize how close they really were to each other. They just stood there, holding each other, for who knows how long. Neither of them noticed Ray walking up to them from the elevator. Robbie walked slowly behind him.

Ray stood behind Lily. Travis saw him, and opened his mouth to say something, but Ray cut him off. "You do know that if it wasn't for your damn neck, I'd..."

"Ray." Robbie said. The one word made Ray stop talking immediately. His angry, sad eyes still glared into Travis's face. Lily turned slowly. "Ray, what are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

"I could ask you the same thing." Ray replied, rocking back and forth on his heels, his hands in his pockets.

"Um, hurricane season; if we didn't..." Lily sighed, "Hurricane season is all." She looked at Robbie. "Hi Robbie," she said, her voice a whisper now.

She turned and went to sit on a bench across the lobby, when a hand grabbed her arm. She turned and looked at her friend with glassy eyes. Robbie noticed her sadness. "Lily, the peak of hurricane season just passed."

Lily's lower lip began to tremble. Robbie shook his head. "I know you too well for that. Something happened down there. What was it?"

Lily sat down on the bench, with Travis on her left and Robbie on her right. She rested her head on Travis's shoulder as a tear fell down her cheek. He put has hand on hers, and brushed his fingers through her hair. Robbie patted her on the shoulder. "Lily, its okay... Just tell us what happened."

Ray watched them from his spot next to the baggage claim... There was nothing he could do.


	7. Hurricane Robbie

**Chapter 7: Hurricane Robbie**

"I know it's not hurricane season, Robbie," Lily said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "And that's what makes this so hard."

Travis was walking back from the Friendly's down the hall with a large chocolate sundae in his hands. He sat down in his spot on the bench and handed the sundae to Lily. She smiled. "Is that where you've been for the past twenty minutes? Getting me an ice cream sundae?"

Travis smiled. "Yeah, I thought it might help cheer you up," he told Lily as she took a spoonful from the side.

She took a deep breath, enjoying the sweet chocolate flavor. "Thank you, Travis. But I need to make a confession." Travis stared at her wide-eyed. "You mean you don't like chocolate? Darn!"

Lily laughed. "No, I love chocolate. I mean, I have to confess about what happened..." Her voice trailed off at the end of the sentence. She wiped her eyes, and began her story. "The most we ever get of hurricanes here are the scattered rains, if they even reach us. However, in Florida, they get the whole thing. Its dangerous being down there, even if its not hurricane season. The people down there know how to handle this kind of weather, at least most of the time." Lily sniffled, and continued, "As soon as we got down to my aunt's house, they told us a hurricane was on the way. All the flights had been cancelled, so we had to stay.Hurricane Roberto hit on Friday. It was the scariest thing I'd ever seen. And then Louie... oh, God, poor Louie." Tears rushed from Lily's eyes. She buried her face in Travis's sleeve and started sobbing.

"Who is Louie?" Travis asked Robbie, who was patting Lily's back. Robbie sighed, "Her little cousin, only four years old."

Travis looked at Robbie for a few seconds, then turned his gaze to his sobbing friend. He wrapped his arms around Lily, her face still buried in his sleeve. Travis rested his head on hers, "Louie died, didn't he?"

Lily took a few deep breaths and wiped her eyes. Still with a small sob in her voice every once in a while, she whispered, "Yes, Travis. Louie died. They let us know today," She grasped his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. "But that's not the half of it. Hurricane Roberto headed out to sea, towards Cape Cod. That gave us time to fly across the mid-western states, back up to Toronto this morning. But its going to hit us today, sometime soon. Its still a category five."

"Hurricane Robbie..." Robbie thought out loud. "God awful name for a hurricane. Who thinks these up? I don't want my name responsible for taking the life of a little kid. And many other people, I'm sure."

Throughout all of this, Ray had been watching from the next bench over, behind the cola machine. He scowled when he saw Lily snuggling up to Travis, but he couldn't get too mad, since she needed someone to cry on, and he was sitting closer to her than Robbie was. Much closer, in fact.

The sound of her ringing cell phone woke Lily from her slumber. She hadn't even known she'd fallen asleep. She lifted her head from Travis's shoulder, trying not to wake him or Robbie. She quietly slipped away, and picked up her phone. "Hello?"

"Lily, darling, thank goodness!"

"Mom, is that you?"

"Yes. Hurricane Robbie has hit. The power is out in most of the airport. The guards are holding us here, in the waiting area. No one is being allowed on the planes or into the garages. Everyone has to stay where they are. I'm afraid we won't be seeing each other for a while, Lil."

"Oh, mom, I..."

"It's okay. You'll be fine."

"Mom... I'm not alone. I'm with Travis and Robbie. Mom... Mom, you're breaking up... Mom? Mom!"

The phone line went dead. Soon after, the lights went out. Horrified screams came from little children, grasping their parent's arms. This woke Robbie.

"Lily, Travis?" He said groggily. He reached over and shook Travis's shoulder. He looked up. "Robbie? Why are all the lights out?" Travis asked unsteadily.

"That hurricane must have hit. Where is Lily?"

They both shot up and looked around. "I can't see a damn thing," said Robbie.

Ray looked over. "Glad you're up. Where's the Lily?"

"We don't know." Robbie said, looking over. "Do you see her Travis? ...Travis?"

Yes, Travis saw her, but he was no longer standing beside Robbie. He was wandering around, desperately searching. Finally, Travis spotted her. Lily was sitting on the conveyor belt, as she was earlier that day. Travis's jacket was still around her shoulders, her blonde hair pulled back in a messy bun. She looked up and saw Travis. He hurried over.

"I can't take this anymore, Travis," she said, embracing him, "Today is turning out so horrible."

Travis hugged her back, "I know, Lily. I know." He took her hand and sat her down on the conveyor belt. Sitting down next to her, Travis took both of her hands in his. "Lily, it's all going to be okay. Robbie and Ray are there for you when you fall. Your family is there when you need help. I'm here for you no matter what happens. Everyone who loves you is there for you, too."

Lily took a deep breath, "I know, Travis. Thank you, I really needed to hear that."

Travis smiled, "I'm glad I helped. We all love you. You know that, right? Ray loves you. Robbie loves you." He paused, and looked down at their hands. "And I love you." He looked back up at Lily.

Lily smiled. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "I... I, uh..." she took her gaze off his deep gray eyes. "I love you, too."

Travis lifted her head with his finger. Lily looked back at his face. There was absolutely no expression there; his eyes told the whole story. There was love, and worry. It was then that Lily realized; Travis really did love her.

The chaos around them didn't make any difference. They leaned closer to each other. Just as their lips were going to meet once more, something occurred to Travis.

"No, no," he said, gently pushing Lily away. "I can't do this, Lily. It's... its just wrong."

Slightly hurt, Lily asked, "What do you mean? What's wrong?"

"I just feel like I'm taking advantage of the situation."

Lily hung her head. After a few uncomfortable seconds, she said, "Travis, why do you have to be so caring? Why must you be so sweet?"

Travis shook his head. "I don't get what you're saying."

"What I'm saying is..." Lily looked up during the pause in her sentence. "Why do you have to be so perfect?"


End file.
